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    Oil slumps, numbers show weaking demand

    European Newsdesk Posted on

    Oil prices were mostly stable on Monday, but ended the third quarter with a steep 17% loss as concerns over a potential crude supply disruption from the Middle East conflict were outweighed by worries about weakening global demand. Reuters reported that Brent crude futures for November, which expired on Monday, dipped by 21 cents to settle at $71.77 per barrel, while the more actively traded December contract edged up by 27 cents to $71.81. Brent dropped 9% in September, marking its biggest monthly decline since November 2022, and plunged 17% over the quarter, the largest drop in a year.

    West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures also showed minimal movement, slipping by one cent to close at $68.17. WTI fell 7% in September, marking its largest monthly decline since October 2023, and dropped 16% for the quarter, its biggest quarterly loss since Q3 of 2023. Prices on Monday were buoyed by the risk that Iran, a significant oil producer and OPEC member, could be drawn into the escalating Middle East conflict.

    Since last week, Israel has intensified airstrikes, targeting Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in Lebanon and Houthi positions in Yemen, groups all backed by Iran. However, concerns over rising global crude supplies have kept prices in check. A report last week indicated that Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader, might abandon its informal $100-a-barrel price target and increase production in December, a bearish signal for the market.

    China’s economic data, which showed a fifth consecutive month of contracting manufacturing activity and a sharp slowdown in the services sector in September, also raised doubts about future demand. Beijing’s recent fiscal stimulus measures have yet to reassure traders, who remain uncertain if they will be sufficient to boost China’s lackluster oil demand this year.

    Additionally, expectations of a recovery in Libya’s oil output further pressured prices. Libya’s eastern-based parliament approved a new central bank governor on Monday, a move that could help resolve the political crisis that had curtailed the country’s oil production.

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